When the rector announced that he had been appointed Rector of Calne (somewhere east of the Tamar) I found myself the link person between the Transitions Adviser and everyone else…. it meant work, but then it also meant that I could have some input. I am a firm believer in putting one’s money where one’s mouth is!
So the first thing I did was to send out a questionnaire to as many people in the five churches as I could reach – link here…
The response was excellent and the next task was to compile the responses into some sort of working document for discussion by the various church councils. The compiled responses can be seen at the bottom of our vacancies webpage.
There was now much trading of text between church wardens, keen folk on various church councils and our excellent transitions adviser (Andy Harris) who managed, skillfully, to make us focus on that which was most important.
We are now on version eleven of the document ready for a chat with the archdeacon and the PCCs next week. I really hope I do not have to change much now. The knock-on effects for me have been to do with the sheer hoovering up of time! People have been wonderfully diligent in spotting typos, grammatical errors, incorrect service times, things that need mentioning….. things that should not be mentioned but each one takes time to correct and time to disseminate the new working of the document.
The thing that surprised me most, and I suppose it should not have done, was how much unity there was between our churches and how much desire there was to work as a team. Team work or the lack of team seems to be the cause of most of the problems for Readers that land on my desk but in Redruth we have been fortunate in having a strong team that meets weekly for discussion, prayer and support and the thought of losing that to ‘father (or mother) knows best’ type of priest who takes everything on themselves and does not know how to consult or delegate effectively is a worrying one.
The person specification is important is such an important part of the process- which should guide the questions for interview.
In amongst all that profile writing has been planning the rota for the next six months…. Caspar was really keen to make sure he left us with as much in place as he could…. taking on some extra funerals and so on.
Our Curate, now in his second year has a suddenly increased workload….. and the rest of us , congregations and churchwardens as well as the ministry team have a duty of care! I wonder how many priests face burn out because of workload and unreasonable expectation.
I know many of you are going through periods of transition – if you would like to share your experience please do let me know
Essential | Desirable |
· Be an experienced team leader (in any context) having a heart for identifying and encouraging vocations in the widest sense of the word. | · |
· Excellent communication skills, a pastorally minded active listener, comfortable with talking to young and old alike. | · Have experienced or have perspective of working life beyond the church. |
Be inclusive, with a heart for diversity- a servant who serves all God’s people with tenderness and humility and open arms. | · Be competent with Information Technology including ZOOM. |
Be a person of prayer and sensitive to the call of the Holy Spirit for themselves and for their people, with the ability to help us in evolving and developing our vision. | · Can show experience of working with young people and children, and the frail elderly and/or housebound. |
· Be flexible and able to work with a range of churchmanship valuing individual traditions and have a heart for ecumenism across denominations and faiths, especially in building relationships with the Methodist Circuit. | · Understand what is required to work with deprived communities. · |
Have a good sense of their own strengths and weaknesses and ability to delegate appropriately. | Full driving licence |